Michael Yezerski is a multi-award winning composer, music producer and songwriter. He has composed music scores and songs for some of the most celebrated international and Australian film productions of the last few years. Career highlights include The Black Balloon (Best Picture, AFI Awards), The Lost Thing (Oscar Winner, Best Animated Short) and PJ Hogan’s box office hit Mental (starring Toni Collette, Liev Schreiber and Anthony LaPaglia). Under Steve Jablonsky, Michael has written additional music for Transformers 4: Age of Extinction. Michael is known for his incredible musical range and unique sound. He is equally comfortable with large scale action drama (Drift, Storm Surfers 3D) as he is with intimate…
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Interview…Film Composer Carl Thiel On Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller and ‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’
The last time we spoke with film and TV composer Carl Thiel he had just finished up scoring the music to Machete Kills. The music was as much fun as the insane action on screen. Now here we are, less than a year later and Thiel has not only contributed music to another Robert Rodriguez film but also the themes for the TV series based on Rodriguez’ From Dusk Till Dawn. No stranger to tight time frames and working hard, Carl Thiel continues to add that gritty and hard-edged sound to each and every world Rodriguez puts on screen. It’s always a blast catching up with him, so enjoy our session with composer Carl Thiel…
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Interview…Film Composer Brian Tyler on Turtles, Expendables, Marvel and Everything In Between
Brian Tyler is a film and TV composer/conductor with over 60 films to his credit. Tyler began scoring features shortly after he received his master’s degree from Harvard University, as well as a bachelor’s degree from UCLA. He is a multi-instrumentalist and plays piano, guitar, drums, bass, cello, world percussion, synth programming, guitarviol, charango, and bouzouki, amongst others. Tyler is currently scoring Avengers: Age of Ultron which follows on the heels of his other scores for previous the Marvel films Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World. He also composed the Marvel fanfare (which plays before all Marvel features) and prior to that he composed, arranged and conducted the new film…
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Interview…Composer Jeff Russo on ‘Fargo’, Multiple TV Shows and Finding An Identity For Each Project
Grammy and Emmy-nominated musician, Jeff Russo has become a prominent composer, songwriter and arranger in the film and television industry and recently finished composing music for two highly-anticipated television series: FX’s ten-episode limited series, Fargo (starring Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman and Colin Hanks) and Starz’s new original drama Power. Jeff Russo’s history as a guitarist influenced his process of scoring FX’s Fargo, for which he recently received an Emmy-nomination. At the panel Russo said that he looks at the dialogue as the lyrics of a song, and composes the score around what it is the characters are emulating in each scene. Russo’s work can also be heard in various…
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Interview…Film Composer Steve Jablonsky On Collaboration and the New Sound of Transformers
Fresh off the plane from London, film composer Steve Jablonsky is just starting to wind down from his last project. And why wouldn’t he? Working on Transformers: Age of Extinction (which came out just four weeks ago and will very soon be the first movie of 2014 to reach the $1 billion mark) over the last 6 months has been a whirlwind. Like most other Michael Bay pictures it was a mad dash to the finish line but that’s how it goes when you work on projects of this size and scope. Steve Jablonsky is synonymous with big, bombastic scores yet while the energy and emotion to his music runs high, Jablonsky is…
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Interview…Composer Kevin Riepl on Scoring ‘Cabin Fever: Patient Zero’
Kevin Riepl is an award-winning composer for film, television and video games. His engaging and atmospheric scores have enhanced numerous films such as the horror/thriller Cabin Fever: Patient Zero, Contracted, The ABCs of Death, the holiday season horror hit Silent Night, as well as film festival winners and genre cult films including the emotional sci-fi short Henri starring Keir Dullea (2001: A Space Odyssey) and Oddball Animation Studios’ stunning concept film Ruin. Riepl is also renowned for composing the epic symphonic scores for blockbuster sci-fi action video games Gears of War, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Resistance: Burning Skies and the Unreal series. His upcoming projects include the action/thriller feature film The Night Crew…
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Interview…Film/TV Composer Trevor Morris Talks ‘Vikings’, Action and Video Games
Emmy Award-Winner Trevor Morris is a prolific composer, scoring for both film and television. He received his 5th Emmy nomination in 2013 for “Outstanding Music Composition for a Series” (Original Dramatic Score) for Showtime’s The Borgias, making him the most Emmy-nominated Composer of the last three years. The Canadian composer was born in London, Ontario, a few hours outside Toronto. Morris attended Fanshawe College’s “Music Industry Arts” program, Canada’s most prestigious school for recording and production. Graduating at the top of his class, he moved to Toronto to work in music production. Morris eventually turned away from production and began to focus full-time on composing music for television commercials. In 1999,…
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Interview…Film Composer John Debney Contemporizes History with the Music to ‘Bonnie & Clyde’
Combining contemporary sounds, dustbowl folk, and jazz, film composer John Debney captures and compliments the drama and exhilaration in A&E Networks’ Bonnie & Clyde. Debney’s score blends modern electronic elements with classic orchestral sounds evocative of the period to help tell the story of America’s famed and iconic bank-robbing couple, played by Emile Hirsch and Holliday Grainger. The robust soundtrack perfectly underscores Academy Award nominated director Bruce Beresford’s epic TV adaptation. John Debney has a proven ability to create memorable music across a variety of genres, and has garnered a reputation of being remarkably collaborative. He has received numerous accolades for his talents and Debney is the youngest recipient of ASCAP’s prestigious…
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Interview…Film Composer Joel McNeely Blazes New (and Familiar) Trails Scoring ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’
Joel McNeely is a Primetime Emmy Award-winning composer and conductor with more than 100 motion picture and television credits. He maintains a busy schedule recording, producing, conducting and composing for film. As a composer for film and television, McNeely has worked with such respected filmmakers as James Cameron, John Lasseter, Seth MacFarlane and George Lucas, among others. In addition to composing, conducting and orchestrating the score for A Million Ways to Die in the West, McNeely recently completed producing and arranging Seth MacFarlane’s new Christmas album which will be released this Fall. He also produced and arranged MacFarlane’s first album of big band and orchestral standards, “Music Is Better Than…
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Interview…Film Composer Matthew Llewellyn On the New Age Old School Horror Formula
In his latest endeavor emerging film composer Matthew Llewellyn crafts a rich, thematic orchestral score for the Chiller Network original feature film Deep In the Darkness. His sweeping, ominous score evokes classic drama reminiscent of the old school style of horror scores. That combined with Llewellyn’s contemporary yet traditional orchestral textures make him a composer to watch. In the words of director Colin Theys, “Llewellyn found a delicate balance that feels original and intense at the same time, taking the film through some dramatic twists and turns.” Theys continues, “Matthew is delivering world-class scores that elevate the films they help to drive.” Llewellyn’s musical repertoire is grounded in the traditions…
